


The Manifesto

by AlwaysOrithia



Category: Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28814268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysOrithia/pseuds/AlwaysOrithia
Summary: Fenris finally reads the damn manifesto. It is not what he expected.
Comments: 34
Kudos: 36





	The Manifesto

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Goat Rope](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27570925) by [AlwaysOrithia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysOrithia/pseuds/AlwaysOrithia). 



> This is a companion piece to Goat Rope - not really a standalone. I always struggled with the fact that the immediate response to the manifesto (from everyone, in-game and out) is always an eye-roll. I think it's shit marketing... 'manifesto' is just one of those words, ya know? 
> 
> And yet, the only in-game snippet we get is a logical assertion. This, plus my nerd-Anders HC, led me down this rabbit hole of 'what if the manifesto is just a poorly-titled dissertation on mage rights?' Anders is obviously a magic nerd before he is an extremist, so it makes sense to me that the infamous manifesto is really just a white paper of sorts. 
> 
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

How could he not have realized?

After hearing the man rant about the plight of mages for so long, Fenris had become proficient at summarily ignoring the subject. But, apparently, the mage hadn’t needed the support of his friends in order to refine his reasoning. He had been testing and honing his arguments all along, even with an unwilling audience.

It was apparent to Fenris – at least in retrospect - that he and the rest of Hawke’s companions had utterly dismissed the manifesto as drivel without even a cursory attempt at comprehension. Fenris himself had disregarded it long before he was even capable of reading the much-maligned source material. Seeing the scope and depth of the writing - imagining the thought that went into it - induced a vague sense of nausea at his own disdain, a guilty conscience made manifest. 

There was nothing for it. He needed to read the damn thing to restore equilibrium, if nothing else.

The first few chapters contained an astonishing array of carefully structured logical assertions supporting the premise that mages were sentient creatures who deserved fundamental human (and elven and qunari) rights. The most comprehensive of these was an appeal to the Chantry, supported by verses of the Chant of Light mixed with ample citations from over a dozen Chantry scholars. Fenris recognized a quote from this section, something the mage had said in a pique one day as he scribbled at the desk: "The oppression of mages stems from the fears of men, not the will of the Maker."

The second pillar of the thesis was rooted in a historical argument, with the implication that mages throughout history had acted according to the same moral imperatives, possessed the same inherent decency, as their non-mage brethren. He cited deeds of apparently notable mages all the way back to the Nevarran Accord, including the sacrifice of one Grey Warden Neriah (with whom Fenris was unfamiliar), and the recent marvels wrought by the Hero of Ferelden (of whom he had heard numerous tales, none of which indicated the Hero was a mage). There was a section here that had been crossed out and re-written, a citation to papers by a Lord Bescond and Professor Kenric, positing that someone important-sounding, an Inquisitor Ameridan, was a mage. In the margins, Anders’ ample notes debated the inclusion of this citation; the notes were circuitous and intense, leaping off the page like a one-man altercation about the risk of citing this without sufficient proof.

The third section was devoted to an anthropological argument that examined the status of mages in the various peoples across Thedas. He described and analyzed the different beliefs concerning magic between the Dalish, Alamarri tribes, Andrastians, and Qunari, in order to support the proposition that the dehumanization of mages was constructed, not any natural or inherent truth.

Part four contained several chapters devoted to a prospectus of the abuses that were both commonplace and, it was heavily inferred, even sanctioned in Chantry-controlled Circles. The entries were quite specific and detailed; even the location of incidents were named, but the names of victims were all denoted by a single letter. A tersely-worded footnote indicated that the reports were derived from first-hand accounts, but the use of names presented too great a danger for those brave enough to share their experiences.

After the remuneration of failings of the current system, Anders used the examples to generalize to mages as a whole. He posited that the rare-but-atrocious actions of individual mages were taken as representative of the entirety of the minority group, while ignoring significant context. He further argued that, given the despair born of systemic oppression, mages often experienced perfectly justified anger and fear; this then increased their risk to society as a whole, which further eroded public opinion and incited calls for stricter regulation. It was a cycle of the most vicious variety, and that failure of equilibrium made the system unsustainable. It wasn’t just that the system was unfair – it was untenable due to this feedback loop. Better to change a broken system when there was time for reason and debate, than to react to whatever violence ensued after the fall.

The greatest chunk of the manifesto was devoted to a single last chapter, titled _Moving Forward_. Here, Anders gathered threads from the entire dissertation and pointed to the areas where Circles were failing their mage charges as well as society at large. He posited numerous systemic changes to current Circle governance, and laid out theoretical framework for the creation of a modern approach to the so-called ‘mage problem.’

The first step towards humane treatment, Anders argued, required an entirely new system of Circle governance, replete with checks and balances on both sides. The general idea seemed to be a system wherein mages were allowed to dictate their own daily lives – as none but a mage could truly comprehend the dangers and pitfalls of magic - but also called for the formation of a council within each Circle to be called upon to investigate potential crimes committed against, and by, the mages within.

Said council would be comprised of equal numbers of mages and Templars, each given a single vote, in order to balance the needs and concerns of the mages with the Templar’s singular ability to negate magic in the case of corruption such as the occurrences at Kinloch. (Fenris frowned – wasn’t the mage originally from Kinloch? What had happened there?)

A Tranquil volunteer would hold the ultimate power to act as tie-breaker, should any judgement result in a stalemate. That this power should rest with the Tranquil was due, in part, to the "demonstrable assurance that logic would be the deciding factor" in any debate, but also because the Rite of Tranquility did not strip mages of their fundamental right to have a voice in how they were governed. It was indicated in a footnote that, should Tranquility ever be eradicated, the final decision should require the unanimous vote of no less than three neutral third parties chosen specifically for their ability to make decisions based on logic and reason. 

Subsequently, he outlined a system for filing complaints and concerns, with numerous redundancies and chain of custody mandates for written complaints. The recurring theme was to allow abuses to be quickly and thoroughly investigated without fear of reprisal. Fenris was surprised to find that the mage also identified ways in which Templars could seek appeals, and means of recruiting aid from other Councils to avoid the order being hamstrung if a large-scale incident arose. It was an unexpected concession, and once again showed a degree of compromise and understanding that Fenris was quite certain not all parties were wont to reciprocate.

In a more radical iteration, Anders proposed a system of optional residence in the Circle towers after a period of initial mandatory training. If possible, a mentor would be sent to the child’s home for this early training - sufficient to teach young mages to control their powers - but if that proved impractical, the child’s family must be provided temporary residence nearby for regularly scheduled visits if both the mage and family wished to stay in regular contact. Thereafter, each mage could opt to serve functional roles as community representatives, preferably in a healing capacity, or could instead choose a life of research and mentorship within the Tower.

In this scenario, Anders sketched out a process to select rangers to enforce peace, a body equally comprised of Templars and powerful mages that could be dispatched at the discretion of the Council should any concerns arise within communities. The force would ideally be largely symbolic of common goals, as here Anders detailed numerous reasons why community strife was unlikely. Most notably, these included the stabilizing effect that a sense of dignity, community and purpose could exert on a mage, and the obvious implication that large-scale sedition was near impossible with mages peppered throughout the countryside.

Anders writing was less academic in this final section; the carefully structured logic gave way to wistful words like “ideal” and “mutually beneficial”. The tone seemed almost shy, and Fenris got the impression that the mage must think this almost a preposterous suggestion, or pure wishful thinking. The longing was almost tangible.

The very last paragraph was a call to arms, but not the kind Fenris had expected – these words seemed intended for the Chantry, the leadership, the world at large, not the words of a rebellious extremist to militant renegades. Fenris was struck by the sobriety of the final words, words that were both humble and rousing. “None involved can afford to abandon their duties out of fear. We are all the cause and the solution of this broken system that no longer serves its intended purpose. There are flaws to be found in each possible alternative, but we do the world an injustice if we allow perfection to impede progress. Let us not cling to folly when progress awaits.”


End file.
